Jack Ma and Alibaba: Story of a $60 Billion Company

Early days of Jack Ma:

Alibaba founder and Chairman Jack Ma, the richest person in China, is a true rag to riches story. He was born in 1964 in Hangzhou, China and grew up in a poor communist community. His parents used to make their living as professional pin tan performers. During Cultural Revolution his family was persecuted because his grandparents were members of the Chinese Nationalist Party that apposed Mao’s communist party.

The Academic Struggle:

He failed to clear his college exam twice before he finally got in and was rejected from dozens of jobs before his success of his company, Alibaba. In China, he had started a translation company to capitalize on the country’s export. This former school teacher visited USA for the first time in his life in 1995. During his visit, a friend told him about the internet and what it does. From there he took a stab at an internet business and named his company Alibaba.

Bumpy Road:

The few things that characterize Jack Ma’s background, education and path to success, they are failure, rejection, fighting, determination, hard work, agility and vision. Jack Ma has learnt the most from his failures than through the traditional channels of education. He is a man of incredible resolve, he has learnt to fail better and fail forward. He declared it himself in an interview with Charlie Rose in Davos, where he said

I failed a key primary school test two times, failed the middle school test three times, failed the college entrance exam two times and when I graduated, I was rejected for most jobs I applied for out of college. I applied for Harvard ten times and got rejected ten times and I told myself that someday I would go teach there.

In the book “Alibaba”, by Liu Shiying and Martha Avery, Jack Ma recalls

I was scrawny when I was young, but I was a terrific fighter. I was never afraid of opponents who were bigger than I.

The Uprising:

Established in 1999, the 18 individuals group Alibaba was led by Jack Ma. The company’s founders desired internet to level the playing field by enabling small enterprises to leverage innovation and technology to mature. The introduction to the power of web derived Mr. Ma to create this group. He wanted to compete effectively in the domestic as well as the global economies.

From the launch of its first website to help small Chinese exporters, manufacturers and capitalists to sell globally, Alibaba group has developed into an international leader in online and mobile market. Today, this group led the online marketplaces as well as internet-based businesses that offer advertising and marketing services, cloud-based computing and network services among others.

As the VR technology is still lasting among the conventional consumers, china’s technology experts are not taking long to enter in this arena. The Chinese e-commerce Giant Alibaba, dubbed GnomeMagic Lab and has announced its own virtual reality (VR) research lab. The company’s plan for the VR lab stems from its core e-commerce business and aims the GnomeMagic Lab to develop a 3D virtual warehouse with a view to integrate VR into the shopping experience. This group claims to have completed 3D modeling for various products and will continue to accelerate the practice with standard modeling tools.

This leading group hopes to mark its space in the emerging market and is expected to grow as much as $110 billion over the next nine years. It tends to explore how the technology can be coordinated with existing business like Alibaba picture group as well as the video streaming services such as Youku Todou.

Earlier this year, Alibaba group invested in the augmented reality company Magic Leap, the deal placed the group’s chairman on the board. It has fixed 360 degree panoramic videos for Youku Tudou, making an approved entry into the showground. Now Alibaba aims to promote virtual reality hardware on its websites and to let shoppers engage in an immersive shopping experience. Zhao Haiping, formar facebook engineer, stated in a press conference that in the coming years people might be able to shop at Fifth Avenue, New York, from the comfort of their own home.

Microsoft, on the other hand has developed a hologram headset known as the Hololens which has targeted professionals such as designers, developers and engineers. It shows the images generated by the computer with the help of the headset. It shows wearer that both the virtual and the real world elements can be seen at the same time. Currently, Alibaba may not be able to take over the Microsoft virtual reality market but it’s important to realize that Magic Leap’s hardware directly comes in line with the Hololens. The Chinese virtual market is estimated to exceed $880 million in revenue as reported by the industry consultant firm iResearch Consulting Group.

Virtual reality for decades has been the matter of heavy hype and has become a hot topic right now. It is supposed to be the next big thing, only to have the technology fizzle out once consumers get their hands on it. All the visual computing companies are strongly focusing on the VR and are working on integral or adjacent technologies. The latest iterations of products such as Oculus Rift and HTC Vive are improved then the previous generated technologies.

The excitement for virtual reality is very high at the moment and we are a few iterations away from truly immersive, high quality and affordable virtual reality that can change the consumer’s ways to do everything.

Back To China:

Jack Ma is the kind of exceptional and talented leader, who redefined the path of success for his own country. In thousands of villages across rural China, people are now strolling down to the Alibaba kiosk as it provides free internet on its computers. In order to empower the young generation of china, Alibaba has planned to train million teenagers. The official Xinhua News agency reported on Tuesday that Alibaba wants the teenagers to start their own businesses and become independent. In an agreement with the China Communist Youth League, this company has agreed to back up youth by providing funds, training as well as partnership.

Alibaba has been on the recruitment drive to train local people. This group plans to make the investment of $154 million through its Ant Financial Plans in order to provide help graduates to stand on their own feet by starting their own businesses.

Rural China is getting access to the internet and the means to purchase which is effectively proving their connection to the outside world. In China’s annual parliamentary meeting in Beiging, Premier Li Keqiang incorporated the e-commerce expansion while explaining about the “Internet Plus” strategy.

Web is becoming a means of access for items and opportunities that was previously mind-boggling. The Alibaba group wants to reach the rural population which tends to be poorer and less comfortable with technology. In the far-flung areas in China, service stations are being established so that villagers can access the internet and shop online. E-commerce growth in countryside is outpacing as compared to the cities of China. From starting with three service hubs, the number has risen to 780. By the end of 2019, this group plans to establish 100,000 village station and 1,000 county stations with a cost of 10 billion Yuan as stated by Xinhua.

As compared to the urban areas, the online sales have grown rapidly in the rural areas. As stated by Xinhua, rural online shoppers account for nearly one-third of the total population and spent 195 million Yuan last year.

International At last:

Jack Ma has impacted the entire economy and internet industry of China almost single-handedly. His story is nothing less than the stories of the heroes that we were taught in our childhood. Although it may sound easy and simple, Jack Ma has had it hard in his life to get to where he is today and has become a self-made billionaire. His extraordinary life speaks out to the world; his recent interview with the US President Barack Obama is a true example of it.

For this unusual task, President Obama took his time off to interview the Chinese billionaire Jack Ma and another young Filipina on government business ties in a panel discussion in the Asia-Pacific Summit. Mr. Obama praised Jack Ma for his thought of establishing business for young people. Jack Ma explained that how Alibaba plans to invest heavily in ventures abroad and thinks of it as a fantastic idea to invest in clean technology. Leaders of the two countries agreed to a common vision for a global climate change agreement that comprised of steps to deliver an early pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Aliexpress:

In 2010, Alibaba group launched Aliexpress as a B2C platform for Chinese to sell to foreigners. It allows Chinese individuals and companies to sell their products directly to foreign consumers. It is basically the retail side of Alibaba where you can purchase goods in smaller quantities. In our next article, we will explain about Aliexpress and shopping on Aliexpress which will make your shopping more enjoyable and safer.